Meet Macrophage

This animation is a cartoon depicting a macrophage chasing bacteria to ultimately phagocytose them.

Macrophages are white blood cells. One of their main roles is to engulf and then digest pathogens such as bacteria. This process is known as PHAGOCYTOSIS. It is a complex mechanism that requires for the macrophage to rearrange its inner cell bits to surround and engulf the target.

The word macrophage comes from the word macros “large” and phagein “eat”. Macrophages are big cells that eat. The function of these cells is to phagocytose (engulf and then digest) cellular debris and also pathogens such as bacteria.